


Queen's Own's Arrow

by Amelia_Claw



Category: Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-09-23 07:05:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17075663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amelia_Claw/pseuds/Amelia_Claw
Summary: A young girl is Chosen at the same time as Thalia, and together they become Heralds through trials and good times. This is the story of Giselle. All rights go to Mercedes Lackey.





	1. In the beginning

This is the story of Herald Giselle; and how she went from an ordinary girl, to a legend. It was a hot summer day that her whole life changed. And it went like this:

I sighed as I continued with my chores. Every day, in and out, I did the same things- with the only variation being the season. Every day in and out, I had to feed the animals, clean up after them, pump fresh water from the well for them, and help with any problems they had. It wasn't that I didn't like the animals, it was that I had done the same things every day since I was old enough to!

Now, it wasn't my father's fault; that one of his bulls had kicked him and damaged his spine, rendering him unable to walk when I was 5. However I often thought that my parents should just hire one of the young men looking for work in the village, and let me be a teenager. I am 13, and should not be expected to do a man's job! It wasn't that they didn't have enough money to do it, as their family's sheep had some of the best producing wool in the area. It was just that my parents wanted to save up their money, in case my father needed more healing. And that wasn't likely, as his condition had been steady for 4 years now.

Suddenly I heard hoof beats behind me. They weren't sound like sheep or cattle, I knew. They sounded a little like horse, but I had never heard a horse with hoof beats like bells, or wind chimes! I finished feeding the greedy sheep, sure I had imagined it- why would a Companion come for me? As I set down the grain bucket, I felt a large nose push lightly at her back. It was definitely larger than a sheep, and I had just fed the cattle, so they would have no reason to be on this side of the farm, even if they could get out of their pasture.

I slowly turned around and saw a smallish white horse with silver hooves and crystal blue eyes that she slowly fell into. “oh my” I mummered.

“Hello, Chosen. My name is Kat. And I choose you, sister of my heart!” the voice said in my mind.


	2. On the Road

Chapter Two

There was only one word for what I was. That word would be dumbfounded. I was just a normal girl, not a brave heroic person from tales that saves everything she sees! Okay, I had been wishing for a better, more adventurous life, but I never thought I would be Chosen.

Kat nudged me with her nose, and I fell out of the spell her eyes had laid on me with all doubts gone. I turned around and picked up my grain bucket, then put my hand on her neck. “Let me grab a few things I don't want to leave, and tell my parents goodbye, then we can leave, ok?” I told her. She nodded her head, and I started walking back across the pasture, Kat following like an obedient dog. I put my bucket in it proper place in the barn, then walked to the house. I quickly packed all of my favorite clothes and trinkets I had acquired into a small pack, leaving anything I thought I wouldn't need. Then I went to tell my parents.

A half an hour later we stood outside, looking at Kat. She had strong legs, a broad forehead to go with her expressive head, a muscular body, and an upright arched neck. She was rather small for a horse, only about 15 hands, with a rather short back. Fortunately for her, I was rather small as well, and wouldn't be growing much more.

“I still don't want you to leave” my mother said, and my father nodded.

I tried not to groan, as we had been over this several times already. “I'm now a Herald-trainee, Mother. I can't just not go; I was already Chosen. To tell her that she has to undo that would kill both of us. You will do fine without me, I will come home as much as I can. You can hire one the boys from the village to take my chores.”

“We don't have the money.” she said yet again. “We need you here, to help us.”

“No, you don't, the boys could do a better job then I could. Besides, there is the trainee stipend, which could cover the wages of the boy.” I told her.

She just kept trying to argue, and Kat was getting annoyed, so I hooked my pack on her back, and jumped into the saddle. “See you in Mid-winter.” I told Father. “I love you, bye” and without another glance back, we walked up the road towards our village of Horn, a colorful village in between Sweetsprings and Kettlesmith.

The second I got into the village, I knew something was wrong. There was a large amount of people crowded around a girl around my age that I had never seen before. Kat raised her head and nickered, and was answered by another Companion. The girl must have been recently chosen, and looked like she had no idea what was happening to her.

The village Guard, Lotte walked over to me excitedly. “You were Chosen!” she exclaimed “Congratulations!”

“Thanks!” I grinned at her. It was the first time I was congratulated for my being Chosen, and not yelled at. My father might not have yelled, but he also didn't try to make mother be quiet.

“This is the first time I have seen two Companions in one day, when I wasn't at Havens, being trained near the Collegiums. It's nice there, childing, you will like it. Now, you should be on your way. This girl here is Talia, she is Holderkin. Talia, this is Giselle, and belongs to this very town. Giselle, I want you to tell Talia about the Companions, okay? You two need to stop into towns and get supplies regularly, okay? No eating that trash they put in the waystations. Giselle, here is your chit-bag, and some supplies. I have already put a Horn chit in there, so you are all good to go.” Lotte told me as Talia got back on her Companion, who was surrounded by children vying for his attention.

“Thanks, Lotte” I told her gratefully

“Your welcome, Giselle” she said, then walked over towards Talia's Companion and fastened some bags to the cantle of her saddle. “Off you get” she said giving him a smack on the rump; which sent him loping down the road and Kat scrambling to catch up.

“Is she always like that?” Talia asked me once we got out of hearing range.

“Lotte? Yes, she is always that abrupt. It’s part of her charm” I grinned.

“Why do you have that Companion?” Talia asked after pondering that statement for a few minutes.

“She Chose me” I told her, reveling in the smoothness of Kat's stride- it was nothing like a horse's.

“What is that?” she questioned.

“Hellfires, they don't tell you about that! Wow!” I exclaimed “When a Companion Chooses you, they are choosing you to be their Herald.” I explained.

“Oh” Talia said then went silent.

A few hours later we got to a waystation, where we quickly took care of the Companions, then cooked for ourselves and went to sleep. In the morning, we cleaned up what we had used, then tacked up and continued towards Haven. At about three candlemarks after nooning, we got to Kettlesmith, where a friend of Lotte's, Breda, would help us.

“Hello girls” Breda said, as Talia stared at her missing leg. “You were just Chosen, I assume?”

“You assume correctly” I told her, as a hint to Talia, who still hadn't figured out she was Chosen. “and Lotte says hello”

“Ah, you are from Horn?”

“You assume correctly again!” I grinned

“I am going to go get you supplies, and your chits, stay here ok?” Breda says, then walks away.

She returned, five minutes later, her arms full of supplies. “Here you go, and good luck, girls” she told us.

“Thank you!” I said, putting half the supplies in my saddlebags, and handing the rest to Talia.

“Your welcome, and here is your chits!” she said.

“Thank you” Talia said quietly.

“Your welcome, now go! You are losing daylight!” she said with a grin.

I laughed and put Kat in a canter, waving as we speed away, Rolan hurrying to catch up. “What happened to her?” Talia asked.

“She fought in a war, and lost her leg in the battle,” I told her “and Lotte, the Guard from my town fought with her. Where you come from, it might not be the same, but most of Valdemar believes women are equal to men, and are 'allowed' to do the same things they could.”

“I'm from Sensholding.” Talia told me.

“I thought so. Did they tell you anything about Companions or Heralds, other then they are evil?” I asked.

“No” she said, looking hopefully at me.

“I can't tell you about it, unfortunately. You have to wait until we get to the Collegium.” I told her, and she looked frustrated, and fell silent.

The next day we came down into a wooded valley, filled with fragrant pine trees, crunching our way down the road. We had just come to a crossroads when I saw a herald- in full uniform, looking at us in astonishment.


	3. From the road to the Palace

Chapter 3

The minute was saw the Herald, Talia began stuttering about how she had found Rolan, and was bringing him to the Collegium. I came very close to slamming my head into the tree beside me. I had hinted multiple time on how Companions Chose people, and apparently, she never noticed. How obvious did I have to get? According to the rules, that every person in my village knows, if someone is Chosen and they don't know about a Companions Choice, you aren't allowed to tell them the details. That's to the person from getting differing accounts of what was happening, making them even more confused then before. It makes sense, but it was rather annoying now, when Talia seemed to sense that I wasn't telling her everything I knew. I just had to remind myself that just because I knew all about Heralds, doesn’t mean everyone else did too.

“Whoa!” the rather melodious Herald said “you're doing the right thing, exactly right. You didn't know?” he asked

“I hinted at what I could, without telling her” I told him “I didn't know if the rules were still in effect or not, as I was with her, and Chosen.”

“You two came from the same town?!” he said, amazed

“No, I was Chosen right as she came through my village, and we partnered up as there was no point in us riding separately.” I told him.

“Ok, well you two continue up to Haven, and someone will be there to explain it to you.” he told us, then reach out and whacked Rolan's rear, startling him into a galloping, with Kat following closely behind.

We couldn’t keep galloping for long, as the road was becoming more and more crowded the closer we got to Haven. When we got there, I was close to bolting to straight back to Horn, and Talia looked the same. Haven was huge, and noisy. There were people everywhere, and building were so close together. I hoped I didn't look like Talia, as she looked very scared. Considering the looks the passerby gave us, I probably did. Rolan and Kat lead us through the city, coming to a large area surrounded by a stone wall. There were guards here, wearing a darker blue then those that I had seen before.

“Rolan” one said in delight “We thought you might of never found anybody! There was even a rumor that you had crossed the border!” the guard suddenly noticed the expression on Talia's face. “Your ordeal is over, childings. Come on down, I will take you where you need to go.”

“Slow down there, Carnell” One guard with more silver on his jacket then the first said “We need to see how much they know”

“Yes sir” Carnell said.

“My name is Cedric.” The silver covered guard told us “How much do you know?”

“I know the basics, but Talia doesn't know anything, at all.” I informed them.

“Ok, then. Carnell, take Talia here, and I'll take you, miss. What is your name?”

“My name is Giselle.” I told him as the six of us walked over to a stable. Two grooms walked out, and hurried to the Companions sides, then escorted them into the stable. From there, Carnell took Talia into the biggest of the buildings, while Cedric lead me to a different one. “Does she go to another place because Rolan was the one who Chose her?” I asked.

He stared at me “How do you know that?”

I blushed “I read a book about Heralds, and at the time, the Queen's Own had a Companion named Rolan.”

“Yes, but don't tell anybody for now, okay?” he asks

“Okay” I said as we walk through the halls to an office. The Guard knocks, and we were told to come in.

“Hello, Dean Elcarth” Cedric greeted “I have a new Herald-trainee for you, and Rolan came in so I sent the other one to the Queen.”

“You're saying that two Companions came in at once!” The Dean exclaimed.

“Yes, sir” I said “I was Chosen right as she passed my village, so we stuck together.”

“Ok then, how much do you know?” he questioned.

“A lot, more then most people. I had an uncle who was a Herald.” I told him “He might have been the black sheep of the family, but I always liked listening to him tell me all about it.”

“Ok, then. That means you won’t be insulted if I hand you over to one of the teachers, and I go talk to Rolan's trainee?” he questioned.

“No sir. It would probably be a good idea if you did talk to her, she has no idea what is going on.”

“You could of told her, you know.”

“Uncle Hadrian told us all the rules of Choosing, and I didn't know if I was allowed to.” I told him.

“You are. Your uncle was a very good herald, I hope you continue that legacy.” He said as we walked out of the office, as the guard had disappeared while we were talking. “Teren!” he exclaimed, “This trainee just came in, and so did Rolan's. Can you give her the tour, and get her set up? She knows a lot, Herald Hadrian was her uncle.”

“Ok, what’s your name, and who Chose you?” he asked

“Giselle, Chosen by Kat” I told him.

“Ok, let start with uniforms, follow me.” Teren told me as the Dean hurried off in the opposite direction.

We went to the Housekeeper, as Teren called her, who was a matronly, middle aged woman. “Here's a new one, and there will be another coming soon.”

“Okay.” she said “You're probably an 8, did you bring anything with you? What your name?”

“Yes, a few things. Not much though. My name is Giselle”

“Good.” she said and disappeared into a room off of her office. She came back with a stack of uniforms and a bulky bag. “If you start unpacking and realize you forgot something, come back, and I'll find it for you, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Now Collegium rules state that you have to wash before every meal, and have a hot bath every night. Dirty laundry goes down the chute in the bathroom, the other girls will show you where it is. You change your sheets once a week, they will get handed out, and the dirty ones also go down the chute. If you've been exercising, change your clothes before you eat. We have no shortage of hot water and soap, so use it. It helps our image as a Herald, you don't expect to see a dirty Herald. Everyone has to do small chores everyday, so what are you good at?”

“I can do anything farm related- even mans work, and am a decent cook and seamstress.”

“You grew up on a farm?” Teren asked.

“Yes, and I did most of the work as well” I said ruefully.

“I think I will alternate you between the cook and the sewing room then.”she said, then handed me a piece of paper. “Here's your schedule, come see me if it needs work.”

“Okay.” I told her.

“Okay, let’s go find your room.” Teren said.

“There are two empty ones right beside each other, I just told Sherrill to put Talia in one of them, you could put her in the other.” the Housekeeper told him.

“Okay.” he said, and we walked out.

“Jana” he yelled a someone, and further down the hall I saw someone that looked awfully familiar turn her head.

“No way.” I said quietly.


	4. Life as a Herald

Chapter 4

Jana was a friend of mine that went missing 2 years ago, and we never learned what happened to her. We all assumed her parents had something to do with it, as they easily get the 'worst parent ever' award, but where never sure, as her parents had solid alibis for the day she went missing. They were both in the town inn getting drunk all day, and never left.

“Giselle?” she asked.

“Jana?” I said

“Yep.” she said, and we ran at each other and hugged. “I'm going to assume you were Chosen?” she queried.

“And I'm going to assume the same about you.” I said “Yes, by Kat.”

“She's my Companion's younger sister!” she exclaimed.

“Whoa! That's cool!”I said, surprised.

“Ahem.” Teren said from where he was standing patiently beside us.

“Oh, sorry Teren.” Jana said “What did you need?”

“I was going to ask if you would mind escorting Giselle up to her room, but now I don't think you will. Housekeeper Gaytha put her in the second room of the two empty ones. Trainee Talia, who came with her, will be put in the first.” her told her.

“Of course I'll do it!” she exclaimed, and he walked away. She then turned towards me “Someone came in with you!”

“Yes. She was coming past our village right as I was Chosen. There was no point in us not traveling together.”

“That's true. But I don't think that's ever happened before!” she said, looking at me with wide eyes as we were walking. She somehow managed to move around everyone that was walking towards her, and still look at me.

“There's a first time for everything. How are you doing that?” I asked after watching for a few minutes.

“This? Oh this is just Alberich's training. He's the Weaponsmaster.”

“How?”

“It's a lot of things. Watching everything around you, without looking like it, the weapons training helps a lot.

“Oh. When do we start it?”

“I don't know. Everyone varies. Talia is probably going to start as soon as possible, but I don't know about you.”she responded.

“What else do we learn?” I ask.

“How to be a Herald, really. Math, how to write reports, courtly graces, geography, and other things. Personally, my favorite subject is the horseback riding lessons. It isn't just riding, it's war maneuvers.”

“That sounds fun” I said “but hard.”

“It is.” she lead the way to the very end of the hall. The second to last door had Talia's name on it. Jana open the last door, which revealed a small room with barely enough room for the bed, desk, bookcase, and wardrobe it held. However, it was a room where I wouldn't be dragged out of an hour before dawn to do two (or more) people's jobs. I would now be doing something I wanted to do, not what my parents wanted me to do.

“It's nice” I said.

“You mean, it's a place that isn't that village.” Jana corrected.

“Yep.”

“Did you still have to do all of the farm work by yourself?”

“Yes, but as I left I gave a rather strong suggestion that they hire someone to help with the work.” I told her, and she laughed.

“Good for you” she crowed, as I discovered my packs beside my wardrobe. I promptly took everything dirty out, and put away the clean stuff. I then organized the trinkets and mementos I had brought on top of the wardrobe. I put all but one of the uniforms away, then looked at Jana.

“Where do I put this?” I asked

“There is a chute in the bathing room.” she took the bulky bag from me, and pulled another bag from it. She then took the clothes from me and put them in. There was a slip tied to the bag, and she pulled a pencil from the desk and wrote my name on it. “This is what you do for personal clothing.” she told me “Otherwise, just stick it in the chute, and they will give you a new uniform your size.”

“Ok.”

“Come on, you need a bath, and I will show you where to put the clothes, and then we can go to dinner.” Jana said, then lead me to a room just down the hall, that she ducked into and got a uniform. “That's my room, so we aren't far away.” she informed my, and we continued on to the bathing rooms.

They were unlike anything I had ever seen before. There were huge copper vats used for just heating water for just this room. “You look as confused as I did when I first came!” Jana laughed. “There is a reason I brought you now, as almost no one has baths at this time of day, they all go to the dinner hall first.” she said, and the room was indeed empty. “Ok, first you have to pump, then you just take a bath, as you are just putting cold water on the top, and the hot stays at the bottom. That way, the water is always hot.” she explained

I did as instructed, and after we were finished, she showed me the clothes chute. After I dumped the dirty things, we went to the dinner hall, where there was more food then I had ever seen in my life! I followed Jana over to a small table, where all the cutlery we needed was. She then lead the way to a small hoist, where we got our food. We went over to a table, and sat where Talia and another young woman were just sitting, before they left, conveniently leaving us two seats to sit in, as the dinner hall was very full.

Once we finished, we took our dirty dishes to the hoist, and went to my room. Once we were there, we finished setting my room to rights and I got her caught up on all of the gossip of the people in our village.

After about 2 hours of talking, she excused herself to go to bed, and I followed her example, worrying about the next day of classes.

 

I woke to someone tapping on the door. I pulled on my robe, and went to answer it. “Hello?” I said to the unfamiliar face.

“Hi. I'm Sherrill, and the person assigned to show Talia around. Jana has chores this morning, so she asked me to get you up, and show you to your first class” she said with a smile.

I yawned, then looked through my window outside- it was a few minutes before sunrise, my usual wake up time. “Thanks, I'll be ready in a few minutes.” I told her.

“Take your time, I still have to wake Talia.” she said with a grin. I just smiled back, then closed the door. I quickly hurried into my new uniform, and pulled a brush through my tangled blonde hair. Once I was ready, I went outside to wait with Sherrill for Talia.

“Hello.” she said as she walked out of her door, still half asleep.

“Hi.” I said chipperly.

“How are you so awake?” Talia asked

“I've single handedly ran a farm for 7 years, and the year before that, my mother helped, but I still did most of the work.”

“How old were you?” Sherrill asked, sounding amazed.

“Five. My father was kicked by a cow, and it hit his spine. He can't walk.”

“Why didn't they hire someone?”

“They said they couldn't afford it, which is a lie. They don't have anyone to help them now, so they will have have to part with the money” I said gleefully.

“I'm going to assume you don't like your parents too much.” Sherrill said dryly.

“You assume correctly.” I told her as we walked towards the dining hall.

The system that there was for dinner was copied now, except there was a lot less people here. We loaded our plates full of marvelous things one usually doesn't get unless they were rich, and dug in.

A half an hour later, Sherrill lead us to the first floor and across a paved court with stables. I glance inside them as we walked by, but saw a brown head poking out, so I knew it wasn't the Companion's stables.

“Talia, come catch up!” Sherrill called over her shoulder “Don't you want to see your Companion this morning?”

“Aren't the Companions in the stables?” she asked, breathless from running.

“In the stables? With the regular horses? Bright Havens, they'd disown us! The Companions have their own place-we call it the Companions Field- and an open building so they can come and go as they like. On a beautiful morning like this, they're all probably in their field.” she said with a laugh

We had just walked up to a tall wooden fence surrounding a park like area that was full of trees and grass. There was a bunch of white shapes off in the distance, which realized were the Companions. I concentrated, and tried figure out how I talked with Kat without her help.

'Hello' I cautiously sent.

'Good job, Chosen!' Kat said sounding amazed. 'I'm on my way now.' she said just as Sherrill whistled shrilly.

“I can't mindcall unless I'm scared stiff.” Sherrill explained as three white shapes detached themselves from the group. “Ylsa says I'm blocked, so I have to whistle for Silkswift. She doesn't seem to mind.”

I could easily tell which of the Companions was mine, and it wasn't just the height. It was instinctive, and natural. We stayed with our Companions for a half and hour until Sherrill announced something I wasn't really looking forward to: our visit with Alberich.


	5. The start of classes

Chapter 5

I had many good reasons why I didn't want to see Alberich. The first, and most important, was that the only weapons I had ever touched was a sling and a dagger that was Uncle Hadrian's, which he taught me with. And I didn't know much, and the sling wasn't much of a weapon.. The second reason was that I had already heard all sorts of rumors about our trainer, none of which were good. The third was that I was in decent condition, compliment of running a farm, but it was nowhere near what Alberich would want.

Sherrill lead us to a long, low building just beyond the stables; inside it was a lot of things. There were cabinets, a few full length mirrors, and armor and weapons racks stored neatly in one corner. There was a man inside, wearing dark leathers, the color of old ashes, instead of Heralds whites. “I thought all the instructors were Heralds.” Talia whispered to Sherrill.

“All but one. Alberich is a Herald; he's just a law unto himself. He never wears Whites unless he's being official.” Sherrill muttered back.

That was when I got my first glimpse of the man himself. Alberich was a tall, dark, and lean man, with a scar covered face. His black hair was streaked with white, and he had gray eyes. He stared at us like a hawk staring at a mouse, and we froze.

“So, you are how old? Thirteen? What physical training have you? Know you any weaponry? Tactics? Eh?” he asked. Talia still seemed to be frozen, so I answered.

“Yes, I'm thirteen. I ran a farm for years so I'm in decent physical condition. I can use a sling, and my uncle taught me dagger whenever he had a break from circuit.” I told him.

“Who was he?” Alberich demanded.

“Herald Hadrian.” I told him, and he just tossed me a wooden practice dagger. I caught it, then raised it into a guard position. The Weaponsmaster just pulled another wooden dagger from his belt and attacked.

The next two minutes were filled with desperate dodging and parrying. He seemed to be testing me, as he backed off a bit, and let me try to hit him, which all failed. Eventually, he performed a twisting maneuver, and the dagger he had given me flew out of my hands.

“Hmm. What about you?” he demanded of Talia, as I retrieved the dagger and handed it to him. He then handed it to Talia, who stood stiffly, having no idea what to do. “Come you, then. What ails you! I told you to attack me! Is it that woman do not fight among your people!” he said in his strange accent as I retreated to where Sherrill was standing. “Have you no weapons skill at all?”

“I can shoot a bow, a little” she stuttered “One of my brothers showed me. He wasn't supposed to, but I begged him. I guess I’m alright with the sling.” she winced, seeming to be waiting for Alberich to yell.

“At least you have sense not to what you have not.” he replied thoughtfully “I think it is too late to teach both of you the sword. Fortunately, you are not likely to need to use one. Bow, of necessity, and knife, and hand-to-hand. That should suffice your needs. Return one hour after the nooning.” he dismissed.

Talia seemed to be subdued from this encounter, and Sherrill noticed. “Don't feel so badly,” she said “You actually got off pretty easily. When he first saw me, he threw up his hands and growled “Hopeless! Hopeless! Let her throw nets and dead fish to defend herself!” At least he thinks you are worth working with! He left me to one of his assistants for months!”

“Why the fish and nets?” I asked curious, and Talia nodded.

“Because I spent half my life on a boat and the other half in very crowded conditions; the last thing you want to do on a slippery deck or a floor thick with babies is run! I had to learn to move freely, something you've always known.” she explained.

“It d-d didn't seem as if he th- thought I was worth anything.” Talia stuttered.

“He didn't scream at you- that's a wonder in itself. He didn't tell you to go home and raise babies either. I think maybe you won him a little by being honest about how little you actually know- an awful lot of new students try to pretend they are more expert then they are, and he generally does his best to make fools of them in front of everybody by way of punishment.

By then we had reached the Herald's Collegium, and Sherrill lead us to the first door on the right. “Here's where the rest of the new ones are. I'll meet you for lunch.” she said, and vanished. It was time for our first real class. Fun.

 

Talia and I took a deep breath, then she slowly reached out and pulled the door open. We tried to creep in unobtrusively, but the minute the door opened, all the eyes were on us. There were 4 boys in there, and no girls. Teren was the teacher of the class. “Be welcome younglings.” he said, leaning casually on the desk. “Boys, this is your 5th and 6th year-mates, Talia and Giselle. Girls, the redheaded fellow is Davan, the tall one is Griffon, and the twins are Edric and Drake- I can't tell them apart yet.” he said with a grin and a wink. “Maybe I should ask Alberich to give one of you a black eye, then I'd be able to tell you apart until it faded!” he said with a laugh as Talia slid into an unoccupied seat, and I grinned at Teren and followed her example. “Well, now that you are here, I think we are ready to start. First, let me explain what this class is about. I'm here to help you understand what a Herald really means; not the hero tales nor the horror stories, nor the wild rumors of drunken debauchery-” he waggled his eyebrows, and the twins giggled. “But rather what our job really involves. Davan is probably the only one of you that knows- or think he knows- what being a herald is really about. That's because his parents are both Heralds themselves. So I’ll start Davan with the question I'm going to ask each of you: Davan, what exactly does a Herald do?”

Davan wrinkled his brow “They dispense the Queen's justice.” he finally said.

“Good enough answer, as far as it goes, but how do they do that?” Teren asked

“They ride circuits, in their assigned areas, going through all the towns and villages. They deliver new laws and report on the acts of the Council and the Queen. They see that the people understand the laws and act as judges, and sometimes lawgivers when something comes up not covered by kingdom law or by local customs.” Davan told them.

“Bright heaven! You mean that sometimes people have to wait a whole year to get justice!” Teren exclaimed sarcastically.

“No, no there are local judges, too.” Davan repudiated.

“So why not use them?” Teren questioned.

Davan couldn't think of an answer, but one of the twins did. “Teren” he exclaimed, waving his head above his head.

“Go ahead, whoever you are.” Teren said with a smile.

“Drake. Our town was to small to have a judge.” he informed them.

“That's a fair reason. But there's another; sometimes it happens that the feelings of the local people- and that includes the judge- are to worked up for a case to be adjudicated properly. There's one reason for you. Davan, do you have another?”

“Heralds can do the Truth Spell, regular judges have no way to tell if someones lying.” he said.

“Good! But that only works if there is someone involved in the case that knows what really happened, remember that. All right, Heralds are judges and lawgivers. What else, Drake?”

“They report on what they see in circuits to the Council and Queen.”

“Why should they do that?”

“So that the Queen knows the true condition of her kingdom. Sometimes the mayors and headmen don't always tell the whole truth on their Domesday Book reports. Heralds know what what's been reported, and how to check for mistakes.”

“Quite true, Edric, your turn.”

“They serve as ambassadors to other Kingdoms. While they're there, they can see if there's something wrong that the Queen should know about, like maybe an army that's awfully big for a country that's supposed to be peaceful. Since Heralds can't be bribed, she can trust what they say.”

“That's correct.” said Herald Teren “And there's more; the kind of training a herald receives here makes it possible for him to note little things others might miss- thing that tell him that there may be more going on then he is told. Griffon?”

“Heralds are the Queen's messengers. There's no faster, safer way to get a message across the kingdom, then a herald, 'cause Companions run faster and longer then any horse ever born. That why Heralds are called 'The Arrows of the Queen.' And they act as war leaders in an emergency, until the Army can arrive. That's another reason for the name.”

“Very good. Giselle, what can you add?” he asked.

“Um.” I said, as my mind went blank of everything Uncle Hadrian had taught me.

“Well” I said slowly “They protect their Queen at all costs, even their own life, if necessary. If the Queen dies, then they protect the heir, even if she or he isn't Chosen. The closest Herald relative to the Queen takes the throne until the heir is Chosen and ready to take the throne. Once, I think a King choose a herald not related to him as the heir, until his child was born, as said herald was the best choice?” I questioned.

“Correct, as that was King Aleyn and Herald Guerin.” he told us. “Talia, your turn.”

“They-make the Kingdom safe. Sometimes they're what the rest said, and sometimes other things- spies, scouts, sometimes thieves- they do whatever needs doing so that the Queen knows what she needs to do to guards us all. They risk everything for that, for the safety of the Kingdom, and for her.” Talia said.

“And that is why” Teren said, staring at each of us in turn “about half of us don't live to see old age. Being a herald is important- the queen has said we're the 'glue that holds everything together'- and it can be exciting. For the most part we are very much honored in this Kingdom, but being a Herald can be a fatal occupation. Hero tales aside, younglings, songs can't help you when you are staring death in the face and all alone. And you are very often alone as a Herald. There isn't enough of us, so we get spread very thin. That puts you in the front line, alone, in a lot of dangerous situations.”

His eyes clouded momentarily. Was he remembering friends that he lost, I wondered. Then he spoke again “The danger is in direct proportion to the importance of the job at hand and your ability to see through it. It's a sad fact that the better a Herald you are, the more likely it is that the Queen will set you risky tasks. I'm sure that each of you has a lazy fit now and then, but by the time you get your Whites, you won't be able to. You have to give your best, no matter what. And when you are on the Front line, that white uniform makes a very good target. I'm telling you this now as it is your last chance to leave the Collegium. No one will think bad of you. Hellfire, you would be the only sane person here! Well? Anyone want out?”

“Definitely not!” I said, with the rest of the class echoing their own version.

“Good. We'll need each and every one of you.”

Talia cleared her throat, and Teren said “Yes Talia?

“I never got to finish the tale of Herald Vanyel, sir. What happened to him?” she asked.

“He was killed by the Dark Servants, but he was able to hold them off long enough for the King to arrive with the army.” I answered before Teren did.

“Very good, Giselle. I want you to think about that. Any of you could be asked to pay Vanyel's price. The Queen will be sad that she had to send you, but that won't stop her from doing it. Want to leave?” He asked again.

“No sir.” Talia said quietly.

“Doesn't the idea frighten you?” Teren asked.

“Yes sir. Only somebody awfully stupid wouldn't be.” she said softly.

“We've all heard the tales, and the ones with the bad, nasty endings. But who will do it if we won't? Other people will join the Guard, for the glory, but everyone one knows that the Heralds are doing stuff that even the guard probably won't do, on a daily basis. It's good that we are scared, it means we know what is ahead of us. But I don't think I'd trade this job for anything in the world.” I ended, to Teren's barely visible shock.

“I assume you all agree with Giselle?” Teren said wryly, and everyone nodded. “Then I can only say that the Companions have chosen well.”

“Of course we did, we are Companions!” Kat said in my head.

“Giselle, Griffon-” Teren said, turning towards us. “I think both of you should sign up for Logic and Oration classes. And, you too Drake. You could be very useful as diplomats.

“Thank you, Teren.” I said, smiling, as the other two echoed me.

“Now, let’s move on to..” Teren said.

Later, after lunch, Talia and I went back out to Alberich's practice yard, for our weapons lessons. There were a group of students trying to hit targets with bows, a few sitting on a bench, with sweat towels and water bottles- along with various weapons, and one student, wearing red, fighting Alberich himself.

Jeri, a Herald Trainee that Sherrill as friends with, waved us over to her where she was standing, watching the two fight. “Alberich is going to work with you two once he is done giving Tel a lesson on not exaggerating.”

“What did he do?” I asked

“Told his Herald Trainee girlfriend that he could beat Alberich. She's over there on the bench.” she said, pointing. “She decided to tell Alberich, and talked her boyfriend into fighting him on some stupid reason. Her point is that overconfidence can get you killed. She's thinking like a Herald, he's thinking like someone who doesn't think he will have to fight ever. She is trying to prove the point that someone is always better than you.”

“Which may, someday save his life.” I ended.

“Exactly.” Jeri said approvingly. “You are already thinking like a Herald.” she said as I blushed.

Alberich worked with Talia first. She might know nothing about bladed weapons, but she was decent elsewhere. She could fall correctly, without hurting herself, and was as good with with a bow as most of the class.

There were students of all three Collegium, but, strangely, Talia and I were the only ones of your age group actually doing blade work, and not hacking at dummies with things that resembled clubs.

After Talia's turn was over, I went to sit at the bench with Jeri while it was my turn. I showed Alberich that I knew how to fall, and he already knew about my abilities with the dagger. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to use a bow.

Fortunately, Alberich didn't get mad. He instead had a solution. Talia would teach me archery, and I would teach her dagger until Alberich decides we are ready to work with him.

When I was done, Alberich sent me to the bench, and started working with Jeri, using a light rapier. After Jeri was done, he called Coroc up, who used a longsword. After them was Skiff, a funny ex pickpocket, whose sword style I would describe as a bouncing squirrel with a heavy blade. It was funny to watch, especially when Skiff ‘died’ theatrically, then presented Alberich with his own gloves that he had filched sometime during the match. Next, it was Talia's turn. I recognized the beginnings of Skiff's style that Alberich was trying to teach her. It made sense, as Talia's duty was going to be to protect the Queen at all costs, and there was no better way then to get in the attackers way, and stay in their way no matter what. And, after Talia was done being exhausted, it was my turn.


	6. My first month

Chapter 6

“Ok” Alberich said as I walked forward. “Did you watch when Jeri went?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.” I told him.

“Good. I am going to train you in her style.” he said, handing me a light, wooden, rapier, and grabbing one of his own. He then showed me the basics of how to block and hit, then started attacking me.

I lost the sword within minutes. His wooden blade rested at my throat. “Try again.” he said gruffly, moving his sword away. I scrambled to pick mine up.

A few minutes later, it flew into the dust again. “Jeri, Talia, Skiff.” he called, beckoning them forward. “Jeri, I want you to teach Giselle, get her to the point where she can use her dagger in her off hand, with the sword in the other.” he ordered. “Skiff, I want you to teach Talia. Use all the dirty tricks you know. She's going to need them.” he finished grimly. “You are done for the day. Rest until you are cool, then go work with your Companions.” he told Talia and I.

We walked in circles until we were both cool, then ran for the Companion's Field. Rolan and Kat were waiting for us there. We used the fence to climb on, bareback, with no bridle, and galloped across the field. We quickly learned that the Field wasn't really a field, and more of a park. We galloped across, to the fence, and turn around and came back, all at top speed. Rolan was fast. Very fast- much faster then Kat. Therefore, when Talia shifted, and got ready to jump the fence, I was ready to follow her over it. The jump felt like we were flying. It seemed to last forever, but it was over in seconds.

“Well done, my young centaurs.” a voice laughed from behind us. Rolan and Kat pivoted without prompt to face the speaker, who turned out to be a woman with graying brown hair and intelligent gray eyes. “And I'd thought I would have to coax you into the saddle with a ladder!” she laughed. “I am Herald Keren, and your teacher for your riding classes. Now, lets see what you two can do in a saddle, shall we?” she said, and lead us to the Companion's stable.

We soon learned that Keren was Teren's twin, and that her skill with a horse was amazing, and what she could do with a Companion was nothing short of phenomenal. “I intend to get you two to where I am. By the time I'm done with you, you will be able to do anything you can do afoot, on horseback- and the only way people will be able to get you off your Companions back unwilling will be dead. You two will be a credit to all of us, I can feel it in my bones.” she said as we walked to the Field’s arena.

She let us go as the sun was going down, and told us to go wander the field, walking or riding. Talia had already gotten off Rolan, so she walked dreamily away with him. I rode Kat in the opposite direction, walking into what seemed to be a miniature forest of trees in the middle of the biggest city in Valdemar. It was rather surreal, to think that I was a Herald trainee, and in Haven, when I thought my life was going to be running the farm until I was old enough to marry, when I would be quickly snatched up by a second or third son for my father's land. I had been dreading that time ever since I was 5 and my parents couldn't have a son to 'properly' inherit their land, and now I didn't have to. Uncle Hadrian had tried to help, but as he was almost never at the farm, he couldn't do much, ever if he was a Herald.

After about a half an hour of wandering down the little, twisting path, Kat interrupted my thoughts. “If you want to make it to your shift in the kitchen early enough to not get in trouble, we have to leave now.” she said, sounding regretful.

“Ok. Thanks for telling me.” I told her.

“Of course, my chosen.” she said, and cantered off onto a smaller path I hadn't noticed before. It quickly got us out of the forest, which seemed much smaller on the outside then on the inside. She hand galloped over to the shed were I quickly untacked her, and groomed her, before running to the Collegium. I took a sketchy bath, and slid into a new uniform, before running down to the kitchens.

 

The kitchen was run by a large, balding man who quickly asked how well I could cook, then sent me to chop meat into cubes. After I was directed to a table where I could reed for a minute, then was sent to peel vegetables. Once I was done with that, I loaded the cooked food into the hoist. After I finished loading, I turned to see that the table had been laid with silverware, and sat down at an empty place at the table. Twenty seconds after I did, I realized, with a start, that Jana sat across from me, and had been working the entire time, but I hadn't noticed! I was one bad friend.

“Mero works us hard, doesn't he.”she commented.

“Yeah, I didn't even notice you were here.” I said, ashamed.

“Neither did I.” she laughed “And I know your schedule. Fortunately, we are highly rewarded for our effort. Mero always saves the best for us.” she smile, and we dug into the delicious food placed in front of us.

After we finished eating, Jana lead the way back to our rooms, where we grabbed our night things, and we went to the steamy, loud, packed full bathing room. “I see why you wanted to go before dinner yesterday!” I nearly yelled over the noise.

“Yep.” she called back, and we waited in line to start pumping water, then took baths ourselves. By the time I got back to my room I could barely talk without yawning every other word. My last thought before I was asleep was 'this has been one very long day. I just hope this isn't all a dream.', then I was out.

 

Fortunately for me, it wasn't a dream. Time, which dragged so slow back home, seemed to pass very fast here, and before I knew it, I had been at the Collegium for a week. All of my classes were very interesting, though I didn't like Geography that much. I had never like the memorizing maps my old teacher back in Horn made me do. I was good in the areas that didn't need maps, though. My favorite class, other then riding, was history. It was like one long story, which made it very easy for me. Another class I had was Maths, which was kind of hard, but Herald Sylvan's enthusiasm for the subject made it easier.

I was starting a new class today, Courtly Graces. Fortunately for me, the book they gave me for the class was the one that my village’s teacher had taught me out of, until I proved competent, though at the time I complained about having to know how to treat diplomats. I thought I would never need to know the stuff! Hopefully, I could test up to a higher level, and not do the basics, again. That would be no fun!

When I walked into the class, I took an empty seat in the front of the class, while Talia slunk to the back. She was probably nervous, as she was Holderkin, and they weren't taught this sort of thing. Well, at least the girls weren't. I didn't know about the men, but probably not. Holderkin were rather inclusive.

After the class was over, I walked over to the teacher, Gaytha, who was the also the housekeeper. “Hello, Giselle.” she smiled “What do you need?”

“I was taught all of this, out of the very same book, and I was wondering if I could test up to a higher level.” I told her.

“Once you are done with this, there really is no higher level, except to come and practice every once and a while in your free time.” she told me.

“Oh. Ok.” I responded, thinking that there would be more to this class then there was.

“How about, after dinner, you come back here, and I give you that test?” she asked.

“That would work.” I smiled. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you for telling me. I've had people not tell me before, and I wish they would've, as I could give more attention to the people who needed it.” she smiled. “Now, go to your next class, or you are going to be late!”

I smiled, thanked her again, then ran off before she could answer. After dinner, I came back and passed the test. I was then put in the Language class, a class designed to make everyone learn to talk like they were noble born, and since I still had my farm girl accent, I definitely needed it. That was where I learned something I hadn't known about myself until then. Something that completely redefined my future. What I was able to do was called mimicking, and it definitely wasn't magic. I was able to pick up the noble born accent within three lessons, though I still need to work on the grammar and phrasing bits. A teacher that my Language teacher had brought in, Herald Garrick, a happy go lucky man, who taught Rethwellan in between riding circuit. He had been born in Rethwellan, but came to Valdemar when he was young. He was Chosen a few years later. However, he still had a thick Rethwellan accent, if he wanted to. I could imitate him perfectly, with a little bit of practice.

“I'm going to suggest you become a diplomat.”

“Because everyone knows that Diplomat is just a fancy word for spy?” I asked.

“Correct, though you didn't hear me say that.” he winked. “Now, I have to go and take over my friend, Derrick's circuit. He broke his leg, poor man. Good luck, childing.” he smiled, and somehow I knew I wouldn't see him again.

 

My first month at the Collegium rolled by quickly. I had finished the Language class in record time, and I, instead was put into a class that taught Iftel. However, my new class wasn't all of my worries. Talia had begun acting more shy then ever, and suddenly became very klutzy. She accidentally ruined several of her things, including her textbooks, though I still have no idea how she knocked over her ink pot while she was talking to me! Fortunately, it stopped when midwinter came, though I have no idea how!

Finally, the day before midwinter break came. I had started packing, and Talia was helping. “I'd offer to take you with me, but I have a feeling that I'll be back here by Midwinter. My parents didn't really approve of my Choosing. Jana and I are only really going so we can shove the fact we were Chosen in our parent's faces. She had a childhood about on par with yours, I think. Her parents are the town drunks, and only work so they can get drunk. And they are mean drunks, too.” I explained.

“Thanks.” she smiled lightly. “I hope your parents are better then you think they will be.”

Jana scoffed as she walked in. “That's doubtful. Thanks for the thought, though.” she smiled at the shy girl. “Anyways, I wanted to tell you, Giselle, that I want to leave by first light tomorrow.”

“Ew.” I groan. “Annoyingly early morning.”

They both laugh. “Yep.” Jana grins, wrinkling her nose. “I'm not any happier then you. I'm going to go get some sleep. You should, too. Goodnight.”

“Night.” Talia and I call as she leaves. We finish packing, and Talia leaves. I take a quick bath, then fall into my bed, dreading the days to come.


	7. Things start happening

Chapter 15

Despite my initial suspicions, Avelina soon became one of my closest friends. She, Jana and I were inseparable before long. We didn't have many classes together, but we were always together outside of classes. We were often found in the evenings, after all of our homework, classes, and chores were done, wandering the Companions fields with our Companions. Jana and I never went home to our families again. For us, it wasn't worth the drama of her family and my mother to see friends that we now had little in common with, and dealing with my father's guilt. Instead, we went with Avelina to her families inn, and spent our time there, racing through the empty fields on our Companions, and helping where we could in the inn. That was where I met Quentin.

It was the last day of our summer vacation, we left to go back to the collegium the next day. I was 16, and it had been three long years since I was chosen. I was sitting in the corner of the inn, my grey uniform conspicuous among the sea of weary travelers. It was then that Quentin walked in. His light green uniform was just as conspicuous as my own. He scanned the room for a moment, then walked over to the innkeeper, Avelina's father. A couple of moments later Avelina's father smiled, nodded and exchanged a key for a handful of coins. The healer-trainee ran up the stairs, a heavy looking pack on his back. within moments he was back. He stood on the last step of the stairs for a moment, gazing around the room for an empty table, likely. Because of where I was seated, in the slightly darkened corner, he didn't see me for a minute, but when he did, he stared in my direction for a moment, and tilted his head inquiringly. I smiled at him, and waved my hand, and he started walking towards my table.

I took the opportunity to get a closer look at him. He wasn't any sort of stereotypically handsome, but I thought he was cute nonetheless. His dark brown hair was slightly longer then the current standard, and his nose was slightly too large, and slightly out of place on his round face. I didn't care- he was attractive to me.

"Is this spot taken?" he asked. He had the voice of a bard, not a healer. It was deeper then I expected the voice of someone about my age to be.

"No." I told him- Jana had already eaten, and Avelina was in the middle of a kitchen shift. "I'm Giselle" I smiled

"I'm Quentin. What's your Companion's name?" He asked.

It was at that moment, I started falling for him. I had never dated before, but I had heard other herald trainees, and full heralds for that matter complaining that nobody but Heralds acknowledged that our Companions were just as smart as any human. Many Heralds had sworn off dating anyone other then other Heralds, as even Healers and Bards sometimes didn't understand why Companions weren't like the horses they expected them to be. "Her name is Kat." I told him.

"With a K or a C?" he asked.

"A K." I told him. "Good thing too, cause a horse shaped thing named Cat would be a bit weird." I grinned.

"Yeah. You would never hear the end of the cat jokes."

"I still get then occasionally." I wrinkled my nose playfully. "And everyone thinks that they are so original." I said, sarcasm ringing through my voice.

"So, where do you come from?" He asked, a grin still twitching on his lips from my sarcasm.

"A little town called _, on the _ _ Road. I'm here visiting a friends family. You?"

"I come from a little village, called _"

One of Avelina's sisters approached us ""What would you like?" she asked

"Water and whatever you have the most of is fine with me." I told her. That was a fairly common request from me, as I didn't want to take the last of something, then have to later deal with a paying customer throwing a fit because there wasn't any more of that thing. That was rude, and as I was at the inn without paying for it, just with whatever chores that Avelina's family wanted me to do, I didn't want to give them a reason to not want to have me back. I loved it here, and I loved having somewhere to go during the breaks that was filled with people who actually liked me.

"That would be the stew, that ok with you?" the sister, Alessandra, asked.

"Yeah, that's good." I smiled, she grinned back. All of Avelina's siblings liked me and Jana as while we were here, we took some of their chore load, with left them with more free time then they would normally have. "And you?" she asked Quentin.

"The same would be good with me." He told her, after studying the menu on the wall.

"Ok, I'll go get started with that." She smiled, more at him then me, but as she turned around she gave me a wink. When she got into the kitchen, I heard high pitched talking and laughter, and heard Avelina's response. Mentally, I sighed, knowing that I would be interrogated later, but didn't let it show on my face.

While we were waiting for our food to come, Quentin and I chatted about how it was strange to go to the Collegium after spending our entire lives in a small town that saw a Herald maybe once a year, unless they were galloping through, heading for other places. I learned more about him, including how he was in his fourth year of healer training, and that when he graduated, he wanted to go back to his hometown and be the healer there, as there currently wasn't one, and the nearest healer was an hour away on a fast horse. That time delay had been a problem before, and there was a lot of things that could of been prevented if there was a healer in the village.

He was very passionate about that, which was something i respected. A healer was vital in small towns, and there weren't nearly enough of them. Healers were like Heralds- there weren't enough of them, but enough to get the job done. We had small guard stations in both of our towns, but that was because we were on the Trade road, the main roads in and out of Valdemar. If something happened, trader goods and other foreigners needed to be protected, so that Valdemar didn't get a reputation as a lawless, dangerous place. However, with the international reputation of Heralds, and the fact that most rulers around would cut off a hand if they could have Heralds of their own, that was very unlikely. I was just as passionate about Herald's and their duties as he was about Healers, and we spent many hours discussing our respective jobs.

When more and more people started coming in, looking not for food but alcohol, Quentin and I said our goodnights, and disappeared to our respective rooms. As I suspected, there was an interrogation waiting for me in the room Avelina, Jana and I were sharing.

"Who is he?" Avelina asked the second that I walked into the door.

I blushed "He is Quentin Brock, a Healer trainee." I told them, closing the door behind me and dropping into a nearby chair. I momentarily wondered if I should of just gone down to the stable and slept with Kat, but then I remembered that Jana and Avelina would ask their Companions where I was, and they would be down in the stable interrogating me within moments.

"He's cute. You calling dibs?" Jana grinned at me.

I sputtered out "I just met him." before they could get any more ideas.

"Yeah, and?" Avelina flung herself backwards and onto the bed.

"For all I know, he already has a girlfriend." I told them, trying to reclaim control of my bright red face.

"So you like him!" Avelina crowed.

"Well, he's cute, but I still barely know him. Two hours of talking doesn't tell you everything about a person." I told them.

"Well, he's cute, but I still barely know him. Two hours of talking doesn't tell you everything about a person." I told them.

"You can say that again. That's what I thought before The Bard and I started dating, and look where that got me." Jana scoffs, and we all mirror her look of disgust. The Bard, Jana's ex boyfriend, was better known as Royce Ashton. He was a miserable, cheating (Both on Jana, and in general, like on tests and stuff) horrid bastard. All of the Herald trainees hated him for what he did to Jana, and not a single girl in all of the Collegium would date him. Added to that all of the pranks that had been thrown at him, and the fact that his teachers now knew that he was cheating on tests, his life was miserable. There were rumors that he would have to spend an extra few years at the collegium so that the teachers would know that they could actually trust him without constant supervision, and even after that, he would get the bad assignments for years.

I was rather surprised that they were encouraging me to go for Quentin, actually. Given that The Bard was Jana's first relationship, and that both Avelina and I were perpetually single, we as a group didn't have the best experience with relationships.

Unlike every other night we had been here, we didn't spend half of the night giggling about whatever we could think of. We had to get up early the next morning to leave, so we could get to the waystation in time to get it ready to spend the night in. . We were going to be traveling at the normal horse speed, though, so if we had to, we could just gallop to the waystation. We didn't think we would have to, though, Not many people would be stupid enough to attack three companions, even if were were trainees and not Heralds. And the weather was tomorrow supposed to be the typical summer in Valdemar- hot, but for the most part, no problems other then that. There were fires, but they were always put out as quickly as possible, and for the big fires, Firestarters such as Griffon, or even people with just a hint of the Gift would go to that fire, and do their best to keep it from burning towns and farms, and if they were lucky, put it out.

There was nothing to be worried about in between here and the capital, so we were going to go slow and make the ride more comfortable for us and the Companions, who would rather not be doing anything more then a fast walk in this heat. I sighed and snuggled deeper into the bed, trying to fall asleep faster. Morning would come fast, and there was a long day ahead of us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Well, I've finally hit the point where the book diverges, and jumps a few years, so I decided that I was going to go more into Giselle, and what she is like, rather then focusing on Talia through Giselle. I did decide to skip a few years though, as Giselle was a little young for this direction, and I needed to be a bit older for what I have planned in the coming chapters anyway. I hope you liked this, and until next time!
> 
> P.S. Is anyone interested in beta-ing this?


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